Scott Cook has been living out of a van or a backpack for the last eleven years, touring almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere, and distilling his experiences into straight-talking, keenly observant verse.

Scott has already completed six tours of Australia, including talked-about performances at Woodford, Cobargo, Candelo, Cygnet, Newstead, Illawarra, the National, and Yackandandah folk festivals.

In 2019 he's returning with a new intercontinental string-band called The She'll Be Rights, consisting of fellow Canadian Bramwell Park on banjo and mandolin, and Aussie comrades Esther Henderson on fiddle and Liz Frencham on upright bass. Liz will also be opening the shows with short solo sets of her own material.

They're touring in support of Cook's sixth studio album, Further Down the Line, which earned him his second Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, and comes packaged in a 132-page book containing a look back, in words and pictures, on his last decade of constant travel. All the hard miles notwithstanding, he still believes that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world.

"Scott Cook has distilled his travels down into songs powered by a sharp eye for imagery, a healthy dose of humanity, and that unforgettable voice, that at the same time intones the rigors of the road and the most comfortable couch you have ever slept on," says David Francey, three-times Juno-winning Canadian songwriter

"As good a modern folkie as we have these days. A voice perfect for the genre. An understanding beyond the norm." - No Depression

"He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own... Truly one of Woody Guthrie's children." - RnR Magazine

Who: Scott Cook and the She'll Be Rights with Liz Frencham concert

When: March 8, 7.30pm

Where: Oddfellows Hall, 22 Kemp Street, West Kempsey

Tickets: $25, available from mvarts.org.au

Macleay Valley Arts Council is a not-for-profit incorporated body with the aim of promoting arts and culture in the Macleay Valley.